


Falling Over the Edge

by Patricia_Sage



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Bisexual Sokka (Avatar), Bisexual Zuko (Avatar), Gay Zuko (Avatar), Hurt Zuko (Avatar), Hurt/Comfort, Implied Sokka/Zuko (Avatar), M/M, Past Sokka/Suki (Avatar), Protective Sokka (Avatar), Sokka has a crush on Zuko, Sparring, Swordfighting, Swords, Zuko has a crush on Sokka, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, zukka - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-20
Updated: 2020-06-20
Packaged: 2021-03-03 18:42:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24830257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Patricia_Sage/pseuds/Patricia_Sage
Summary: Sokka and Zuko are sparring at the Western Air Temple and Zuko gets injured.Sokka struggles to express his feelings.
Relationships: Sokka & Zuko (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 17
Kudos: 1108





	Falling Over the Edge

The Western Air Temple was huge and beautiful and a very good hiding place for everyone while Aang prepared to face the Fire Lord. However, it was also very old and disused. Sokka realized pretty quickly that he should be more cautious about where he chose to practice sword fighting.

He had recently convinced Zuko to spar with him. Sokka had been practicing a bit with Suki, but fighting someone wielding a fan was a very different experience compared to the clashing of blades. Also, interacting with Suki one-on-one was still a little awkward since their (sort of) breakup. Did it count as a breakup if you kissed once and then didn’t see each other for a long time and then kissed again and then escaped a prison and then realized the spark was gone? Regardless, it still hurt.

But sparring with Zuko was nothing like sparring with Suki. The Kyoshi warrior would flit around, using Sokka’s own maneuvers against him. Essentially, Sokka would defeat himself. Zuko rarely evaded anything. In the face of a threat he planted and advanced even more ferociously. Zuko wielded his swords almost as effectively as he wielded flame. He was smooth, focused, and incredibly deadly.

Sokka was absolutely thrilled to have someone his own age who was skilled in sword fighting. And, since their escapade at Boiling Rock, Sokka was absolutely thrilled to spend time with Zuko. The firebender was stubborn and proud, but also awkward, sweet, and sometimes even funny. He was an amazing fighter. Sometimes he would wipe sweat from his forehead, tilt his chin down, and smirk at Sokka before striking again. The sight of his tousled hair, strong arms, and bright golden eyes nearly made Sokka trip over his own feet.

He had a bit of a crush.

Sokka’s training taught him to use his terrain to his advantage, so he did his best to maneuver Zuko toward the cliff’s edge. They were sparring on one of the higher areas that looked over a courtyard. Sokka pushed off of one of the columns, dodging a swipe from Zuko’s right broadsword and leaping closer to the edge. Zuko, predictably, followed with determination. Sokka then used a trick he had learned from Aang, quickly plastering his back against Zuko’s, forcing the other boy to whirl around in an effort to face him.

“Not you too!” Zuko growled in frustration. Suddenly, he kicked backwards, planting his foot in the back of Sokka’s knee, which made Sokka stumble. Zuko leapt back to face him once again.

However, the stone at the edge of the cliff was weakened and weathered with age, and the floor suddenly gave way beneath him. Sokka watched in horror as the stone crumbled and took Zuko with it. He dropped both of his swords and attempted to grasp at the edge, but his downward momentum made it impossible to hold on. Sokka flung himself onto his stomach and reached for his friend, but their fingertips brushed and Zuko fell onto the courtyard below.

“Zuko!”

Sokka ran and nearly tumbled down the stairs in his effort to get down as quickly as possible. His eyes landed on red Fire Nation clothing, lying still under a layer of dust and rocks. He yelled his friend’s name again, but it sounded more like a sob of relief as Zuko groaned and sat up.

Sokka fell to his knees, feeling a sharp pain as rocks cut through his pants. He grabbed Zuko, dust-covered and stunned, and pulled him into a fierce hug. Zuko let out a muffled grunt of pain but didn’t move away. After a few moments his warm hands came to rest uncertainly on Sokka’s shoulder blades.

Sokka pulled away and ran his hands carefully through Zuko’s hair, checking for bumps or blood. Zuko stared at him with wide eyes but didn’t shy away from the contact. Sokka ran his hands down the other boy’s neck and over his arms. The firebender’s limbs were all intact and there wasn’t much blood except for a few scrapes on his chin and elbows. Sokka let out a breath and hugged him again.

Zuko stammered a bit and finally settled on one word that he said over Sokka’s shoulder. “Why?”

Sokka moved out of the other boy’s space but allowed his hands to run down Zuko’s arms and settle, cradling his injured elbows. Sokka analyzed the flustered and confused expression on Zuko’s face. “What do you mean, ‘why’?” Sokka replied, “I was worried about you.”

Zuko’s gold eyes flickered across Sokka’s features. His eyebrows were furrowed. “Why?” he asked again.

Sokka felt a warm wave of exasperation and fondness wash over him. He wanted to let it out, to explain how his heart melted when Zuko laughed, how sometimes he wanted to shake Zuko but mostly wanted to gently cradle his sweet face in his hands. He wanted to admit that sometimes he lost their sparring matches on purpose just so that he could feel Zuko’s strong chest pressed against his in the brief moment of victory. Instead, he instinctively masked those feelings with a sassy comment. “Well, there’s no way we’d be able to find Aang another firebending teacher in time, so…”

Sokka’s heart fluttered in an unpleasant way when he saw Zuko’s face fall a little in disappointment before turning to stone. This was an echo of the Zuko that Sokka had first met – resigned to his duty, creating an impenetrable exterior to protect his heart. “Right,” Zuko said, not meeting his eyes anymore.

Zuko stood up and Sokka’s hands felt cold at the sudden lack of contact. The firebender limped over to the fountain, plunging his hand in and retrieving one of his broadswords. The other was a few feet away under some debris. Sokka didn’t miss the way Zuko winced and as he bent over, hand hovering over his ribs.

“You should go find Katara,” Sokka said. Even though his sister didn’t fully trust Zuko yet, she never turned down healing someone who needed it.

“No. I’ll be fine. I’ve recovered from worse.”

Sokka tried not to think about what the burn on Zuko’s face must have looked like when it was fresh. 

Zuko moved toward the deeper part of the temple. As he walked away, Sokka’s heart leapt into his throat. He managed to speak around it. “Wait!” Zuko stopped but didn’t turn around until Sokka gently touched his shoulder.

When golden eyes met his, Sokka lost his nerve once more. “You’re my friend,” he said tenderly. It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t the full truth either. He tried again. “I would be super upset if you died because…I really like you.” This was closer to the truth, but not quite. It was the closest he would get today.

Zuko looked baffled, as if Sokka had just told him something incomprehensible. The words seemed to tumble out of his mouth without his conscious control. “I really like you, too.”

Sokka felt like his smile was going to overtake his face. “Great.” He placed his arm around Zuko’s shoulders, and they started walking together. “I’m taking you to Katara and you are going to get healed. No arguments!”

Zuko blushed. No arguments were made.

**Author's Note:**

> I have other stories I should be working on but instead I'm writing stuff like this. Oh well. Let me know what you think!


End file.
